Opponents argued the bill should have been amended to protect the rights of Americans who might be surveilled by intelligence agencies monitoring the calls of foreigners.

The final Senate vote was 73 in favor and 23 against. The bill already passed the House of Representatives in September, with 301 voting for and 118 against. Now, it will proceed to the desk of President Obama, who said earlier this year that his administration “strongly” supported the House bill. That means it’s on track to be extended just before the original law expires on December 31st.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation supported a series of four amendments that would grant additional protections to citizens or make a certain level of transparency mandatory.

The NSA may be its own worst enemy. At some point the NSA and affiliated agencies will need to lay off highly skilled people. Some percentage will pursue crime. In Russia, many ex-KGBers now work for the Russian Mafia.

The 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which oversees the N.S.A. activities, was up for renewal in December. This vote was the last chance for Congress to enact meaningful review of surveillance activities for the next five years.